Liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighter



y- 1, 1969 KENJIRO csbTo 3,453,064

LIQUEFIED GAS'FUELED POCKET' IYFE SMOKING LIGHTER Filed Nov. 17. 1967 Sheet I of 4 J25. .Z- c

I NVEN TOR.

y 1 KENJIRO GOTO 3,453,064

LIQUEFIED GAS-FUELED POCKET-TYPE SMOKING LIGHTER Filed Nov. 17, 1967 Sheet 3 of 4 INVENTOR. (TA/ll? O 0 TO July 1, 1969 KENJIRO GOTO 3,453,064

LIQUEFIED GAS-FUELED POCKET-TYPE. SMOKING LIGHTER Filed Nov. 17. 1967 Sheet 4 of 4 United States Patent O US. Cl. 431131 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking (cigarette and cigar) lighter in which ignition sparks are emitted when the ignition wheel against which a flint is abutted is rotated by the manipulation of a manual rotor by a users finger or thumb and which comprises a lighter casing and a pivotal lid hinged to the casing. The mechanism for urging and maintaining the flint against said ignition wheel is adapted to maintain the flint against the ignition wheel regardless of the degree of consumption of the flint so as to assure positive emission of ignition sparks.

Background of the invention In most conventional liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighters, the mechanism which urges and maintains the flint against the ignition wheel comprises a spring compressed by a threaded screw, but such a type of smoking lighter has disadvantages such as that as the flint is consumed the spring force for urging the flint against the ignition wheel decreases proportionately and that when the existing flint which has been greatly diminished is replaced by a new flint, or a new flint is initially charged into the Smoking lighter, the spring and threaded screw have to be withdrawn from the casing of the lighter.

Brief summary of the invention The present invention relates to a new and improved liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighter, and, more particularly, to a new and improved liquefied gasfueled pocket-type smoking lighter of the type in which ignition sparks are emitted when the ignition wheel against which a flint is abutted is forced to rotate by the manipulation of a manual rotor and which generally comprises a lighter casing and 'a pivotal lid hinged to the lighter casing.

One principal object of the present invention is to provide a liquefied gas-fuel pocket-type smoking lighter of the above-type in which ignition sparks are emitted when the ignition wheel against which a flint is abutted is forced to rotate by the manipulation of a manual rotor by a 'users finger and which generally comprises a lighter casing and a pivotal lid hinged to the body, characterized in that an improved mechanism for urging and maintaining said flint against said ignition wheel is provided whereby even when the flint has been consumed to a substantial degree the flint can be positively urged and maintained against the ignition wheel so that satisfactory ignition sparks may be emitted at all times, regardless of the degree of consumption of the flint.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighter of the above type which includes an improved mechanism for receiving a flint whereby replacement of the existing flint which has been substantially consumed by a new flint or installation of a new flint can be easily performed.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighter in which the mechanism for controlling the amount of spouting liquefied gas is interconnected at one end to the nozzle of the gas spouting valve device and at the other end to the manipulating mechanism for the pivotal lid which is hinged to the lighter casing and the gas spouting valve device is completely concealed within the lighter casing.

According to the present invention there is provided a liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighter comprising a casing; a liquefied gas fuel reservoir disposed within said casing; valve means disposed in communication with said reservoir and being movable between a first position in which the liquefied gas fuel is allowed'to spout out of the reservoir and a second position in which the gas fuel is prevented from spouting out of the reservoir, said valve means having a gas spouting nozzle; a manually pivotal lid hinged to said casing at the upper edge of the casing and having a cylinder pivoted thereto for pivotal movement in unison with the pivotal lid; a valve manipulating plate engaging said nozzle for opening and closing said valve means and adapted to engage and disengage from said cylinder; a block assembly secured to the top wall of said liquefied gas reservoir and provided at one end with a slot extending by a substantial distance in the longitudinal direction of the block assembly and at the other end with a pair of vertically spaced parallel horizontal projections; a spring-loaded displaceable flint case received between said pair of parallel horizontal projections of the block assembly and adapted to receive a flint therein; and ignition wheel disposed adjacent to said flint case; a flint pushing member movably received by said block assembly for reciprocally longitudinal movement along a passageway defined by a bore provided in the block assembly in order to engage and disengage from said flint case; a cam pivotally supported within said slot of the block assembly for normally urging and maintaining said flint pushing member against said flint case; and a manual rotor rotatably received in an opening defined by one of said pair of parallel horizontal portions of the block assembly and portion of the top wall of said gas fuel reservoir at one cut-away corner of said casing and accessible for manual rotation, said ignition wheel being supported by said rotor for rotational movement in unison with the latter.

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings- The accompanying drawings illustrate one preferred embodiment of liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighter according to the present invention and in which:

FIG. 1 is atop plan view of said embodiment of smoking lighter showing the same with its hinged lid removed therefrom in order to illustrate the inner construction thereof;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line AA' of FIG. 1, but shows said smoking lighter with the lid in its normal closed position;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line BB of FIG. 1 with the lid in its normal closed position;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line CC' af FIG. 1, with the lid in its normal closed position; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the essential parts of said smoking lighter especially showing the block assembly and its related parts with a portion thereof cut away.

Preferred embodiment of the invention Referring now to the several figures of the accompanying drawings in which one preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, the liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighter by the present invention generally comprises an open top casing 1 of rectangular cross-section, a normally sealed liquefied gas fuel reservoir 2 disposed within the casing 1 vertically extending by a substantial distance in the height of the casing from the inner bottom of the casing, a liquefied gas spouting valve device 3 vertically extending through the gas reservoir 2 at an area adjacent to and extending through the gas reservoir 2 at an area adjacent to and inwardly spaced from one end wall of the casing and a liquefied gas fuel injection valve device (not shown) connected to the reservoir in a gas supplying relation to the latter.

The liquefied gas reservoir 2 has a stepped top wall 2a through the lower portion of which the upper portion of the valve device 3 upwardly extends, opposite end walls 2b and 2c rigidly connected to the inner surfaces of the respectively adjacent end walls of the casing 1, opposite side walls (FIG. 4) rigidly connected to the inner surfaces of the respectively adjacent side walls of the casing, and a bottom wall 2d which also forms the bottom of the casing 1.

The open top of the casing 1 is normally closed by a pivotal lid 20 which is hinged at the upper edge of the casing 1 as shown by reference number 26.

A block assembly 4 having an integral cover member 5 is secured at the bottom to the higher portion of the stepped top wall 2a by means of set screws 6 and 7 with the upper portion thereof projecting above the open top of the casing 1. The block assembly 4 is provided at one end with a pair of opposite and parallel projections 10 and 11 horizontally and outwardly extending from the associated end of the block assembly 4. The upper projection 10 and lower projection 11 are vertically spaced from each other so as to define an elongated clearance 13 therebetween and the bottom of the upper projection 10 is formed with a notch transversely extending across the width of the projection at a point between the opposite ends thereof and the upper surface of the lower projection 11 is also provided with a similar notch in a position opposite to the notch in the upper projection 10 whereby the notches in both the projections 10 and 11 define an opening 12 for receiving a flint case of which description will be made later. The lower projection 11 is further provided with a through bore 9 in a position spaced from the notch in the associated projection for the purpose to be described hereinbelow. The other end of the block assembly 4 is provided with a vertical slot 14 which extends laterally by a distance of about one half of the length of the block assembly 4 and extends vertically in the full height of the assembly thereby to divide the second or other end portion of the block assembly 4 into two wall portions. The thus formed wall portions are provided at the opposite inner surfaces adjacent to the upper edges thereof with similar semicircular recesses so as to define a bore 14a which communicates at one end with the clearance 13 and opening 12 defined by the upper and lower projections 10 and 11 and on the upper and lower sides with the slot 14. The other end of the bore 14a is open. A cam 16 is pivoted within the slot 14 by means of a transverse pin which extends through the above-mentioned slot forming opposite wall portions.

The block assembly cover 5 comprises a top wall 512 (FIG. 3) disposed adjacent to the lower projection 11 and having a bore 5a through which the upper end of the nozzle 3a (FIG. 1) of the gas spouting valve device 3 extends, an integral side or interconnecting wall 5c adjacent and opposite to the opening 12 and an integral bottom wall 5d connected to the top wall 5b by the intermediate side wall 5c.

A flint case 17 is loosely disposed within the opening 12 and the flint case 17 is provided with a flint receiving transverse through bore 17a (FIGS) which is in axial alignment and communicates with the bore 14a at one end and opens into the opening 13 at the other end. The flint case 17 is also provided at one end surface with a circular recess 17b for receiving one end of a spring 18 (FIG. 4) the other end of which is secured to the inner surface of the cover side wall 50 by any suitable means and also is provided with a stopper 17c extending upwardly at the flint case end and adapted to abut against the upper projection 10 whereby the flint case 17 is normally held in the opening 12 having applied thereon a force urging the case outwardly of the opening 12 by the spring 18 in the direction normal to the axis of the bore 14a, but the movement stroke of the flint case in the above direction is limited by the stopper 17c which abuts against the upper projection 10.

A flint pushing member 19 is received by the block assembly 4 for slidably reciprocal movement with respect to the block assembly and integrally comprises a manual manipulation horizontal upper portion 19a having a transverse notch formed thereon which is adapted to slide on the upper horizontal projection 10 of the block assembly 4, a flint pushing horizontal lower portion 1% having an oval cross section area slightly smaller than that of the bore 14a and adapted to be guided along the bore 14a into and out of the flint receiving bore 17a in the flint case 17 and an intermediate or interconnecting vertical portion 190 which integrally connects between the two horizontal portions 19a and 190.

The flint pushing member 19 is normally urged inwardly into the flint receiving bore in the flint case 17 by a cam 16 and adapted to urge a flint (FIG. 2) received within the flint receiving bore 17a against an ignition wheel 8.

The pivotal lid 20 is hinged at 26 to the upper edge of the lighter casing 1 and has a depending bracket 25 secured to the inner side of the lid. The bracket 25 supports a transverse pin 24 on which one end of a cylinder 23 comprising a pair of telescopically connected larger and smaller diameter cylindrical portions and receiving a coiled spring 21 therein is pivotally supported. The other end of the cylinder 23 is pivotally supported on a transverse pin 24a extending through the block assembly cover 5.

Reference number 27 (FIG. 3) designates a valve control plate which has an upwardly extending projection 27a normally adapted to abut against the lower side of the two-part telescopic cylinder 23 and has one bifurcated end (the left hand end as seen in FIG. 3) for loosely embracing the intermediate reduced diameter portion of the nozzle 3a. The other end (the right hand end as seen in FIG. 3) of the valve control plate 27 is formed with a bore for loosely receiving the upper portion of the set screw 7. The valve control plate 27 is adapted to be actuated in response to the upward or downward pivotal movement of the cylinder 23 as the lid 20 is manually pivoted for opening or closing.

The cam 16 pivotally disposed within the slot 14 by the shaft 15 is normally adapted to be urged to rotate in the clockwise direction as seen in FIG. 2 by the action of a vertical cam pushing bar 30 which is vertically movable within a vertical cylindrical member 28 secured to the higher portion of the stepped top wall 2a of the liquefied gas-reservoir 2 and downwardly extends into the reservoir. The cam pushing bar 30 is urged upwardly by the action of a coiled spring 29 received within the cylindrical member 28 whereby the cam '16 normally urges the flint pushing member 19 toward the flint case 17 and as a result, the lower horizontal portion 19b of the flint pushing member 19 in turn enters the aligned bore 17a in the flint case 17 and urges the flint F received within the flint case against the ignition wheel 8.

A cylindrical manual rotor 31 is rotatably received within an opening formed by cutting away a portion at one corner of one end of the lighter casing 1 and defined by the lower top wall portion 2a of the gas reservoir 2 and portion of the block assembly 4, and the rotor is rotatably supported at the upper and lower end portions. The upper end of the cylindrical manual rotor 31 is pro vided with a polygonal pin 31a which supports the ignition wheel 8 thereon and the lower end of the rotor is provided with a pin 31b rotatably received within a hearing cylinder 32 which vertically extends through the lower top wall lower portion 2a of the liquefied gas reservoir 2. The peripheral surface of the cylindrical rotor 31 is knurled so that the rotor 31 may be easily rotated by a users finger. As the cylindrical rotor 31 is manually rotated in the direction toward the user, the ignition Wheel 8 is also rotated in unison with the rotor and the thus rotated ignition wheel 8 frictionally brushes the flint which is being urged against the wheel in the manner mentioned above.

In operation, when the pivotal lid 20 is first manually rotated about the hinge 26 in the arrow direction as seen in FIG. 2 to a substantially upright position or opening position, the two part cylinder 23 is also pivoted upwardly about the shafts 24 and 24a by virtue of its pivotal connection with the lid 20. As the cylinder 23 pivots in the manner mentioned above the cylinder first reduces its length against the force of the spring 21 received therein and then regains its initial length by the force of the spring after the cylinder has reached the upper limit of its movement whereupon the lid is held in the substantially upright position. Since as the cylinder 23 pivots upwardly in the manner mentioned above the projection 27a on the valve control plate 27 is released from the pushing-down action or force of the cylinder 23, and accordingly, the control plate 27 is allowed to slidably move upwardly on the reduced diameter portion of the nozzle 3a and the set screw 7 until the plate is stopped in its movement by the head of the screw 7 whereby the liquefied gas fuel within the liquefied gas reservoir 2 is allowed to spout from the reservoir through the nozzle 3a whereupon the cylindrical rotor 31 is manually rotated in the direction toward the user.

As the rotor 31 is rotated in the manner as mentioned above the upper polygonal pin 31a integral with the rotor causes the ignition wheel 8 supported by the rotor 31 to rotate in frictional engagement with the flint whereby the ignition wheel frictionally brushes the flint so as to emit a spray of ignition sparks which ignite the spouting liquefied gas.

Although the flint gradually diminishes in size as the smoking lighter is repeatedly operated for lighting cigarettes, pipes and cigars, since the lower horizontal portion 191) of the flint pushing member 19 is at all times urged against the flint within the flint case 17 by the cam 16, a constant and satisfactory contact can be maintained between the flint and the ignition wheel 8 until the flint has been consumed to a substantially last portion thereof.

When it has been found that the flint has been cut or consumed away to the degree that the flint can no more emit sparks by its frictional engagement with the ignition wheel, the user pushes the pushing member 19 away from the flint case 17 by means of a transverse notch on the upper horizontal portion 19a of the flint pushing member 19 against the force of the cam 16 so as to move the lower horizontal portion 1912 out of the bore 17b of the flint case whereupon the flint case 17 is sprung out of the opening 12 in the block assembly 4 by the action of the spring 18 to a position normal to the axis of the bore 14a in the slot 14 thereby to expose the flint receiving bore 17a ready for replacement of the existing consumed flint with a new flint or insertion of a new flint therein.

After a new flint has been inserted into the flint receiving bore 17a, the user pushes the flint case 17 back into the opening 12 of the block assembly 4 against the action of the spring 18 until the flint receiving bore 17a of the flint case again aligns with the bore 14a whereupon the user pushes the flint pushing member 19 toward the flint case 17 until the lower horizontal portion 19b of the pushing member 19 enters the flint receiving bore 17a of the flint case 17 to urge the newly received flint against the ignition wheel 8.

As mentioned above, in the novel smoking lighter of the present invention, since the flint pushing member 19 is adapted to be subjected to load by the spring 29 through the cam pushing bar 30 and cam 16 which pivots about the pin 15 and to transmit the load of the spring to the pushing member 19, even if the flint diminishes after repeated operations of the novel smoking lighter, the flint pushing member 19 may push the flint with a constant force because the pushing member advances in an incremental amount corresponding to the diminishing amount of the flint by the action of the spring 29 which is transmitted through the cam pushing member 30 and cam 16 whereby the pushing member 19 can at all times urge the flint against the ignition wheel 8 with a force suflicient to emit necessary ignition sparks therebetween until the flint reduces to a substantially last portion thereof, and therefore, the flint can be economically used with assurance of emission of satisfactory ignition sparks.

Furthermore, since the block assembly 4 is provided with two integral upper and lower parallel horizontal projections 10 and 11 for holding the ignition wheel 8 and flint case 17 and with the slot 14 in which the flint pushing member 19 is guided and the block assembly is secured to the top wall 2a of the liquefied gas reservoir 2 by means of the set screws 6 and 7, as compared with the conventional similar pocket-type smoking lighters, the novel smoking lighter comprises .a smaller number of parts, is simpler in construction and easier to assemble.

In addition, since the flint case 17 is so constructed that when the flint case receives a new flint therein the flint case is sprung out of the block assembly 4 to a position in which the axis of the flint receiving bore 17a is positioned normal to the axis of the bore 14a so as to expose the flint receiving bore 17a by the action of the spring 18, insertion of a new flint into the flint case or replacement of the existing flint which has reduced to almost nothing with a new flint can be easily performed and the flint fragments and/or particles which remain in the flint receiving bore 17a can be easily taken out of said bore. And since the gas spouting valve device 3 is adapted to be opened or closed by the upward and downward movement of the valve control plate 27 having the upward projection 27a which is normally adapted to engage the lower surface of the two-part cylinder 23 which is adapted to act on the pivotal lid 20, there is no necessity for provision of a specific separatedevice for opening and closing the gas spouting valve device whereby the construction of the novel smoking lighter can be made more compact than those of the conventional pockettype smoking lighters.

While only one preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail in the foregoing it will be understood that the same is for the purpose of illustration only and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighter comprising a casing; a liquefied gas fuel reservoir disposed within said casing; valve means disposed in communication with said reservoir and being movable between a first position in which the liquefied gas fuel is allowed to spout out of the reservoir and a second position in which the gas fuel is prevented from spouting out of the reservoir, said valve means having a gas spouting nozzle; a manually pivotal lid hinged to said casing at the upper edge of the casing and having a cylinder pivoted thereto for pivotal movement in unison with the pivotal lid; a valve manipulating plate engaging said nozzle for opening and closing said valve means and adapted to engage and disengage from said cylinder; a block assembly secured to the top wall of said liquefied gas reservoir and provided at one end with a slot extending by a substantial distance in the longitudinal direction of the block assembly and at the other end with a pair of vertically spaced parallel horizontal projections; a spring-loaded displaceable flint case received between said pair of parallel horizontal projections of the block assembly and adapted to receive a flint therein; an ignition wheel disposed adjacent to said flint case; a flint pushing member movably received by said block assembly and having a flint pushing portion which is movable in a passageway open to said slot and flint case and normally urged into said flint case for urging said flint within the flint case against said ignition wheel; a cam pivotally supported within said slot of the block assembly for normally urging said flint pushing member against said flint case; and a manual rotor rotatably received in said casing and accessible for manual rotation, said igni tion wheel being supported by said rotor for rotational movement in unison with the latter.

2. A liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighter as set forth in claim 1 in which said valve manipulating plate is adapted to move upwardly and downwardly in response to the pivotal movement of said cylinder as said lid is pivoted and loosely engages at one end said nozzle and loosely engages at the other end a set screw extending through the top wall of the casing whereby the manipulating plate is normally biased upwardly so as to urge said upward projection of the manipulating plate against said cylinder.

3. A liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighter as set forth in claim 1 in which said pivotal cam has a first portion which pushes said flint pushing member and a second portion which is subject to the action of a spring that pushes said flint with a constant force regardless of the diminished condition of the flint because the flint pushing member advances toward the flint in an increment amount corresponding to the diminishing amount of the flint.

4. A liquefied gas-fueled pocket-type smoking lighter comprising a casing; a liquefied gas reservoir disposed within said casing; valve means disposed in communication with said reservoir and being movable between a first position in which the liquefied gas fuel is allowed to spout out of the reservoir and a second position in which the gas fuel is prevented from spouting out of the resservoir, said valve means having a gas spouting nozzle; a manually pivotal lid hinged to said casing at the upper edge of the casing and having a cylinder for unison movement with the lid as the lid is manually pivoted; a valve manipulating plate engaging said nozzle for opening and closing said valve means and adapted to engage and disengage from said cylinder; a block assembly secured to the top wall of said liquefied gas reservoir and provided at one end with a slot and at the other end with a pair of vertically spaced parallel horizontal projections; a spring-loaded flint case having a flint receiving bore and received in an opening defined by said pair of parallel horizontal projections of the block assembly and adapted to receive a flint therein; an ignition wheel disposed adjacent to said flint case; a flint pushing member movably received by said block assembly and having a flint pushing portion which is movable in a passageway defined by a bore provided in said block assembly adjacent to and open at one end to said slot and at the other end open to said flint receiving bore of the flint case for urging said flint within the flint case against said ignition wheel; a cam pivotally supported within said slot of the block assembly for normally urging said flint pushing member against said flint case; said flint case being movable between a first position in which the flint case is engaged by said flint pushing member and a second position in which the flint case is sprung out of said block assembly and the flint receiving bore is displaced from its alignment with said passageway of the flint pushing member until the axis of the flint receiving bore is disposed at right angles with respect to that of the passageway; and a manual rotor rotatably received in said casing and accessible for manual rotation, said ignition wheel being supported by said rotor for rotational movement in unison with the latter.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,419,889 4/1947 Florman 431276 X 2,536,855 1/1951 Pcarcy 431276 X 2,743,597 5/1956 Newman 431-131 X EDWARD J. MICHAEL, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

